Top 5 Mardi Gras Recipes

The Best recipes for Mardi Gras

We have been to many Mardi Gras celebrations in our travels. My husband went to a crawfish festival in Gillette WY before I started joining him on the road. He was out there building our nations biggest Power plant. I was so jealous that he got to go without me a few months later I decided that I was going to start traveling with him. That same year we attended a Mardi Gras Festival in the streets of Deadwood South Dakota. It was so much fun but none of this compared to the southern experience of Mardi Gras that we were able to be a part of when we were working in SETX building one of our nations biggest fuel refineries.

Crawfish Etouffee for Mardi Gras

With this recipe PMGK had me at Crawfish. Add in one of his amazing sauces and you are in for a real treat. I’ve been calling him the sauce man for years. He knows his sauces and with this dish he has taken traditional Etouffee to the next level. If you don’t already know what I mean you need to make this recipe for Mardi Gras. You’ll soon be calling him the sauce man too.

Bourbon Chicken for Mardi Gras

Bourbon Chicken is a dish named after Bourbon Street in New Orleans, Louisiana and for the bourbon whiskey ingredient. The dish is commonly found at Cajun style and Chinese restaurants. When we were living in the south we ventured into Louisiana a few times. For some good food and some gambling. The horse races and the buffets were a few of our must haves. Southern food is like nothing else and the people are such a breath of fresh air. Plus, it was only 20 minutes from where we were living so we couldn’t pass up the experience.

Jambalaya for Mardi Gras

What I love about Jambalaya is that you can just throw all the ingredients in one pot and it comes out with such a great flavor and ready to dish up. It’s so simple anyone can make this recipe. Plus, sausage and shrimp all in one dish. Whoever came up with this idea is a genius.

Oysters Rockefeller for Mardi Gras

My favorite thing about Oysters besides eating them, of course, is shucking them. I’ll admit I was intimidated when I was helping PMGK shuck these for the video but after the first two, I felt like a pro. I’ll never be even half the cook he is but he really makes it seem so easy. When I’m in the kitchen with him I feel empowered like I can make any dish. When you’re done preparing a recipe like his Oysters Rockefeller you’ll wonder how you managed to pull off making something so fabulous. Your guest will also be in awe.

Crawfish for Mardi Gras

We Chose this Crawfish video for the top five for a few reasons. It’s our newest crawfish video and most people don’t have access to live crawfish. We really do recommend getting them live if you can. The experience is what it’s all about. Just watch my daughter and husband in this video it’s priceless. We’ve had some really good times showing the little ones how to prepare live crawfish. We have caught them ourselves in the gulf coast and we’ve been able to buy them live at amazing deals. Once we got such a good deal on a bag that was way more crawfish than we needed. We made half the bag and used my resources from my side business to sell the rest. We had them in the bath tub to keep them alive until the person came to pick them up but they were such a good deal they were sold within the hour. This is what PMGK is all about. Using what you have to make cooking and eating not only a Gourmet experience but also a fun one.

Are you ready for your Mardi Gras party?

If we’ve helped you decide what you’re going to make for your celebrations then we’ve done our job. If you’re still undecided I’d like to make just one more suggestion that didn’t make the list. Boudin. I tried it for the first time when we were in the south and I fell in love. It has such a unique flavor that you just can’t find anywhere else. To me it’s not Mardi Gras without it.

Dirty Rice – Cajun Style Pork Fried Rice

The Best Dirty Rice, Ever!

I just can’t say enough about this Dirty Rice recipe. I’m telling you, truly, it’s the best version I’ve ever had and I’m not just saying that because it’s my recipe. My wife and I just kept going back for seconds, thirds and fourths. Okay, there was nothing left when we got done eating and my kids loved it too. Now that’s saying something because this recipe has liver in it. It’s true, I designed this recipe to be more family friendly and than the traditional spicy recipes but don’t let that steer you away from trying it. Some chopped peppers and a dash of Cayenne will quickly put you back in business, if you like it hot, and I guarantee this recipe will be at the top of your list of rice recipes, from here on out.

Traditional Dirty Rice

Most Dirty Rice recipes have a kick to them. This means peppers and spice. I avoid both in this version for several reasons. First, because it makes it more family friendly and, second, because it can easily be added to this recipe, with out changing a thing, if you prefer it. And, third, this version is absolutely amazing.

I mentioned before that I don’t use peppers in this recipe. I add sweet peas instead and as an alternative to using Old Bay or something even spicier, like “Slap Ya Mama”, I use Knorr Beef Bouillon. Now that’s not to say that any beef bouillon will work, because I’m not sure that it will. I just know that Knorr is uniquely seasoned and balanced to make this Dirty Rice perfect. In my opinion, it’s a lot like Ramen Noodle season packs or the seasoning pack found in a box of Rice-A-Roni. So know that I’m not advertising for Knorr, I just know that it just works wonders in this dish.

Also, be sure to check out my Cajun Stuffed Peppers, my Jambalaya and both my How to make Boudin and my Boudin Balls recipes.

Dirty Rice Ingredients:

2 cups Rice, uncooked
4 cups Water
8 oz Ground Pork
4 oz Chicken Liver
2 Garlic Cloves, chopped
1/2 Onion, chopped
2 Green Onions, chopped
1/2 cup Fresh Parsely, chopped
1 Celery Stick, chopped
1 Cup Peas
2 tbsp Knorr Beef Bouilion
1 Stick Butter

Be sure to watch the short video tutorial for this Dirty Rice recipe and I’ll show you exactly how to make it.

Pork Chorizo – How to make Chorizo from Scratch

The Best Pork Chorizo

This Pork Chorizo recipe is excellent and on point. It’s got everything you want in a great Chorizo and it’s fun and easy to make. In this post and video tutorial, I show you how to make sausage stuffed in hog casings and I give you the option of making sausage links that you can grill or make a real pasty Chorizo that you can combine with Eggs for breakfast, homemade Chili or some amazing burritos like this Chimichanga recipe.

Making Pork Chorizo From Scratch

You’re going to need a good Pork Roast and either Pork Belly Fat or Fat Back. I use 3 parts, a 2 to 1 ratio; 2 parts Pork to 1 part fat. I cut everything down into portions that will fit through my meat grinder and then mix in all of my other ingredients. From there it’s like clock work, stuffing the hog casings and twisting links. Now there are some alternatives to this recipe that I’d like to mention. If you don’t want to make sausage links you can twist the sausage up in saran wrap and I show you how to do that in my Italian Sausage video found HERE.

If you want a pasty Pork Chorizo, you’re going to want to make my homemade Enchilada Sauce and add it to this recipe. There’s nothing else like it. My recipe is thick and pure, so you’ll want to check it out before you decide to add your own or resort to a canned product.

If you’re interested in more recipes that use a kitchen aide to stuff hog casings, you should take a look at my Cajun Boudin recipe.

Pork Chorizo Ingredients:

2 lbs Pork Shoulder/Butt, ground
1 lbs Pork Belly Fat or Fat Back, ground

3 Garlic Cloves, chopped
2 tbsp Salt
1 tsp Pepper
1/4 cup Smoked Paprika
1 tbsp Cumin
1 tbsp Corn Syrup or Brown Sugar
1 tbsp Chili flakes
1 1/2 tbsp Red Wine Vinegar
1/4 Lard or Shortening

1 cup Enchilada Sauce, optional (CLICK HERE)

Follow the directions in my Pork Chorizo video tutorial and I’ll show you how easy this recipe is to make.